


A Way to Reappear

by Lilith_NightRose



Category: Life Is Strange 2 (Video Game)
Genre: ACAB, Abolish Prisons, Alternate Ending, But he can def get better, F/F, Family first is selfish, Finn is a Selfish Asshole, Gender Dysphoria, Life Is Strange References, Smut may occur after Sean turns 18, Society’s rules are unjust, Trans Female Character, Trans Girl!Sean Diaz, Trans!Sean Diaz, but Cass and Sean do do offscreen stuff before that, he just needs some wholesome dykes to scare him selfless
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-17 12:35:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29100384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilith_NightRose/pseuds/Lilith_NightRose
Summary: As Cass’s lips met his, he nearly lost himself in the moment, yet in the in the corner of his mind there was still that buzzing feeling, and a creeping gratitude that the cold lake obscured the rest his body beneath its dark, glassy surface.Or: Cassidy helps Sean realize she’s actually a trans girl and in the process may just help the siblings stay together without sacrificing their morality.The Transgirl!Sean fic that literally nobody asked for, but I’m writing it anyway.
Relationships: Cassidy/Sean Diaz
Kudos: 4





	A Way to Reappear

**Author's Note:**

> I’m shocked at how little Cass/Sean fic there is given how adorable they are together. I guess nobody in this fandom writes het (which, thinking about it, isn’t that surprising…)

The woman with purple hair sat on her backpack between the long row of trees and the open gate of the Christmas market. She leaned over her guitar, adorned with stickers, and strummed out a series short, melodic riffs. She looked so out of place, her hair, her attire, and her demeanor marking her as other to the respectable, conservative residents of Beaver Creek, Oregon.

Of course, she wasn’t the only one at the Christmas market who seemed out of place. Sean Diaz and his Brother also stood out. There weren’t many Mexicans in the McKenzie River Valley, and Diaz brothers’ faces, which had been plastered on every newspaper in the Pacific Northwest a few months prior, stood out all the more in this lily-white central Oregon town.

Sean could feel it. The uncomfortable prickle at the back of his neck. _It was a mistake to come here_. _People are watching. We should have stayed at the Reynold’s House_.

But there was nothing to be done about it. Daniel had wanted to come, had needed to spend time with someone his own age. _And besides,_ something that was not quite a voice whispered in Sean’s mind, _haven’t you always felt like this?_

It was true. The reason that Sean and Daniel had made it this far on the road was that Sean knew the tingling in the back of his neck. Knew how to keep his head down, even before… before… well…

The woman with the Purple hair felt different. She stood out, yes. Acted the part of an outcast. But she held herself with a comfort. Her eyes were bright. The sign propped against her backpack ‘WILL EAT FOR FOOD’ was goofy and unapologetic. Every movement she made suggested she didn’t give a fuck what anyone, least of all the residents of Beaver Creek, thought about her.

Perhaps that’s why Sean drew near. Why he dropped a dollar in her plate, and why he paused to listen as she looked up at him with sharp, thoughtful eyes and started to sing.

_It’s me, it’s me you’ve come to take_

_My duality awakes_

_By midnight time I could not see_

_If I were you or you_

_Were me_

Sean kept listening, and the more he listened, the more enraptured he became. Everything about her was amazing. Her voice. The way her callused hands carefully and subtly plucked and strummed to form the chords. Her _freedom_.

Too soon, it was over, and as the last chord faded, she looked back up at Sean.

“Wow, you made it all the way through.”

Her voice was a gorgeous drawl (Texan?) with just a little bit of an edge to it.

“Weird.” She continued. “You gotta crush on me or something?”

Sean stammered out something weird and awkward in response. _Idiot._

She just smirks and nods. “Relax, dude. It’s cool that you listened.” Her eyes flickered to the side, a frown passing across her face “people are usually too busy to care.”

“This is a small town,” Sean said. “They’re not used to having street artists” As if she didn’t know that. “And… stuff” _Fucking smooth man._

“Yeah, they’re not used to having many things,” the woman responded, leaning loosely on her Guitar. ‘specially new faces on the street”

_Gosh, if she only knew the half of it._

“Well… thanks for the music, and… good luck”

She nodded nonchalantly “See ya”

Sean stood there for an awkward beat before he turned and continued to look for a gift for Daniel.

Still as he tried to determine whether a goofy looking bear on a chair or a carved beaver would be a more appropriate gift to give to Daniel, Sean couldn’t help but keep thinking about the girl, who was still noodling away on her guitar behind him. He didn’t know why, but he felt a powerful draw to her. She joked about him having a crush on her. He’d had crushes before, of course. A few months earlier, he’d been looking forward to going to a party with Jenn, but this… this felt like something different, or, it definitely had some parts of a crush, but it also felt like… more. Either way, he couldn’t get her out of his head.

Sean eventually decided on the beaver.

He paid the merchant, thanked him, and turned around to walk back towards the woman and her guitar.

“Hey” he said, and she looked up again, and smiled.

“Hey, miss me already?” She responded.

Again, stammering like an idiot, Sean tries to apologize, but she stops him.

“I’m just messin’ with ya. Its nice to chat for a change.”

Sean nodded in assent. He knows the feeling. He hasn’t felt like he’s had someone he can really talk to since he cut short that video call with Lyla nearly two months ago.  
  


The woman looked a little wistful. “Me and my friends have been crashing for the week. Nobody here gives a shit about us. But you… well… you’re not from around here.” Not a question. A statement.

Sean scratched the back of his neck. “Uh, yeah, we’re just” he paused “here for the holidays”

The guitarist raised an eyebrow “You got family?”

Sean closed his eyes and nodded “Yeah, my grandparents.”

She gave a crooked smile, “Gotta love the grandparents.”

The way she said it suggested something dark. Sean thought it best to change the subject. “What about you and your friends? You on a road trip?”

The purple haired woman laughed. “Not really. We kinda hop from place to place, seeing where we end up, hunting for little jobs.”

Sean thought for a second. “Sounds stressful.” _Of course, given our situation._

She laughed again “Nah, it’s okay! We hop on trains. Gives us time to rest.

Sean thought about the days it took for them to hike the thirty miles to Beaver Creek, and wondered if he and Daniel could do the same. “Sounds wicked! but also dangerous.”

The woman giggled. “Nah, it’s fine. So long as you can run and jump you’re pretty much good to go.

“Well unless you get caught or fall. But we’ve been lucky so far. It’s just the best. Nobody tells us what to do. No corporations own us.”

He didn’t know why but the words ‘nobody tells us what to do’ rattled through his body and settled just below his neck. _Probably just because I’m sick of all the Reynolds’ rules._

Still, there was again that strange sense that there was something more going on. So he just said “Man, I bet you get so see so many cool places”

The wanderer nodded, a fire behind her pretty green eyes, “Exactly! Next stop is Humboldt County, California!

Sean giggled. “Stoner break!”

Feigning exasperation, she responds, “Not even close. We’ve actually got work over there!”

Sean smiled. This woman _gosh you don’t even know her name yet._ Was so easy to talk to. It felt nice.

“Hey Sean!” Sean turned his head. Daniel had ran up to the spot where he and the musician were chatting and started talking excitedly about the tree he and Chris had just picked out picked. Then, noticing the nomad who Sean had been talking to, introduced himself and asked her name.

As Sean kicked himself for not asking earlier, the woman identified herself as Cassidy. Cass for short. Cass then asked Sean for his name, and he stammered it out, along with a lame excuse about how he though he’d already told her.

Another prickle: a _nd that’s the real reason why you didn’t ask her name. You didn’t want her to ask yours._ Sean tried to dismiss the thought. After all, it wasn’t as if a weirdo drifter would be the type to turn them into the cops. _But that’s not all it’s about, is it? You’ve never liked telling people your name._ Sean shook himself. Now was not the time to deal with that kind of thought. He refocused just as another drifter walked up to them, with a very cute, but quite dirty dog in tow.

“Hello Pups!” the man says. Cassidy seems to recognize him. They must be travelling together.

He introduced himself as Finn, then introduced the dog, affectionately noting that it stank. Cassidy responded with a dry “he’s not the only one.” And her male companion ribs her in return, before turning to Sean and jokingly telling him he should stay away.

Sean shuffled his feet before saying that Cassidy seemed cool.

Cassidy smirked “See? He knows I’m clean! You’re the nasty one.

“Yeah you always go for those suburban boys,” Finn responded

Cassidy said something back, but Sean didn’t hear it. There was a pounding in his head, and a prickling feeling up and down his body. He didn’t know why, but every muscle in his body clenched. What fucking right did this dude have to assume _anything_ about who or what Sean was? What he had been though.

“Fuck you man” Sean interjected. “You don’t know shit about me.”

Finn seemed taken aback and briefly at a loss for words. Daniel stared at Sean, confused. Cassidy just squinted up at him, a curious gleam in her eye.

Finn put his hands up, “woah, man sorry. Just making a little joke.”

Sean was starting to calm down, “Yeah, well…” he sighed, “I’ve… we’ve… been through a lot of shit over the past couple of months. I’m not just… another suburban boy.”

Finn started to regain his cool demeanor and smirked. “Right, cool, you look straight-laced, but you’re actually edgy.”

“Sure, whatever man,” Sean responded, looking down.

There’s a pause.

Cassidy cut the tension by starting to pack up. “We should prolly get going, Finn.”

Finn responds in the affirmative and they got up and moved towards the gate of the tree market.

As they walked though the gate, Cassidy waved Finn on before turning and smiling at Sean. “Sorry ‘bout Finn. He can be an asshole sometimes.”

Sean shrugged “I’m sorry for blowing up”

Cassidy nodded “It’s fine. It was nice meeting you, Sean and Daniel. Hope to see you on the rails someday.”

Sean awkwardly responds, “yeah we’ll see you around,” and smiles at Cass.

Despite what had just happened, Cassidy smiled back, and the prickling feeling in the back of Sean’s neck joined in dance with butterflies in his stomach. He really did hope that he and Cassidy would meet again, though he had to acknowledge that it seemed unlikely. As Cass turned away to catch up with Finn, Sean turned to Daniel and, in spite of the kid’s squirming protest, hugged him tight. This kind of emotional tango wouldn’t do. He needed to keep himself together to keep Daniel safe.

**Author's Note:**

> So, uhh, I'm kind of new to this. I hope people like it. Please don't hesitate to comment with constructive criticism, or positive feedback. Whatever really! We'll see where this goes!


End file.
